GB margins positive despite above average costs

Latest figures show that GB pig production costs remained higher than most other major producing countries in 2013. However, UK pig prices averaged 12p above the EU average during the year. New analysis looks at the implications of this and more recent price changes for producer margins.

Latest figures from InterPIG, an international group of pig economists, show that pig production costs in Great Britain remained higher than most other major producing countries in 2013. However, the financial position of GB producers was among the best in Europe, as pig prices averaged 12p above the EU average during 2013. This gave GB producers a small positive margin during the course of the year, while their counterparts in most other EU countries broke even or made a small loss.

Since 2013, feed prices have fallen across Europe. Based on updated figures from some members of InterPIG, by September 2014, the effect on costs would be between 20p and 30p per kg compared with the 2013 estimates. However, with pig prices also much lower than in 2013, by October average EU producers would have been well into the red. In contrast, UK prices have held up relatively well and GB producer margins have been much more positive than those elsewhere.

More analysis of the latest production cost comparisons and the implications for producer margins can be found in the document below.

Information on production costs and physical performance across the world’s major pig producing countries are analysed in more detail in the annual AHDB/BPEX report Pig Cost of Production in Selected Countries. The 2013 edition of this report will be published in early December.